Jason's Bride
by Luv2rite
Summary: Read inside! COMPLETED!
1. Default Chapter

Hi Everyone! I know I haven't updated in a while and I'm not going to try and make excuses for why I haven't. But all I'm going to say is that senior year of high school isn't a picnic. So I am going to update Morgan's Love soon. The only thing is that I was just sitting in class one day and this story just popped into my head so I'm going to start it and you guys can tell me should I continue or not.

Also FYI to all Liason fans. I started a petition that I would love if you guys could sign: http/ http/ Thanks.

Disclaimer: Right now I wouldn't want the show the way it is now

Summary

Seven years ago Jason Quartermaine married the young and pregnant Elizabeth Webber when his brother had abandoned her. But now AJ Quatermaine is back in town and the two brothers are competing for the same woman. Who will Elizabeth choose?

Character Summary:

Elizabeth Webber-26, home maker/part-time postal clerk. When she was 18, pregnant, and desperate, Liz let herself be talked into a convenient marriage with Jason Quatermaine. But now, years later, she is hopelessly in love with her husband...and fears he'll never return that love, especially since he seems so ready to cast her aside when his brother unexpectedly returns to town.

Jason Quatermaine-37, horse trainer. Jason fell like a ton of bricks for young Elizabeth Webber when his irresponsible brother left her alone and pregnant. But Jason believes that Liz still loves AJ, so when he unexpectedly returns to town, Jason is reluctantly prepared to step aside if only to see her be happy. He doesn't count on it being quite so difficult to let go.

AJ Quatermaine-29,computer system analyst. A love 'em and leave 'em kind of guy, AJ unwittingly left young Liz alone and pregnant to sow his wild oats and forge his career. Unlike his brother Jason, AJ has never been the family type, but when he unexpectedly returns to his hometown to accept a job there, he intends to settle down.

Chapter 1

"I suppose you heard."

"Hmm?" Elizabeth Webber finished folding the last bath towel and added it to the neat stack sitting atop the shining oak dresser. She wanted to get the laundry put away so she wouldn't have to do it the next day before going to her part-time job at the post office. Waiting for him to elaborate, she glanced up and in the wide mirror over the dresser saw the reflection of her husband, Jason, standing on the other side of the bedroom. He'd unbuttoned his chambray work shirt and as she watched, he yanked the tails from his jeans and shrugged out of it, balling it up in his fist.

He wasn't looking at her, though, and she stifled a longing little sigh at the sight of Jason's bare chest. Her husband was nothing if not a magnificent-looking man, though he'd likely figure she'd lost her mind if she told him so. She scooped up the stack of towels and walked past him to the linen cupboard tucked in a corner of their bathroom. She juggled the high stack and opened the door. The shelves were jumbled, as if Cameron had been rooting through for one of his toys. She knew it was more likely that it was Jason who'd left the disorganized mess. He did that when he was searching for an old towel to turn into a grease rag for whatever engine he was trying to fix around their small spread. She spied a relatively neat corner and began fitting the stack of clean towels into it. "Heard what?" Jason didn't immediately answer and she raised her voice a little. "You suppose I heard what?" She glanced over her shoulder, hearing Jason's soft footfall behind her. AJ's back," he said in his quiet voice. Liz blinked. She was aware of a slow tumble of pale blue and peach terrycloth as the towels she'd been putting away slid from the shelf to the cool white-tiled floor. Her stomach clenched. "I...excuse me?" Jason watched her, his deeply brown eyes unreadable. "You heard me." She swallowed. She'd been married to Jason for nearly seven years now. In fact, their anniversary was just a few days off. She'd knitted him a cable-knit sweater in a beautiful silvery gray color. It had taken her months and she'd had to bribe Cameron with a bag of chocolate-covered peanuts to extract his promise that he wouldn't tell his daddy what she'd been working on every afternoon between the time she picked him up from school and when she put on dinner before Jason came in for the day. She reached for the towels, automatically refolding and stuffing them in the cluttered closet. One of these days she'd pull everything out and organize it properly, she thought stupidly. "How, uh, how do you know? Did you see him? Talk to him?" _Did you tell him about Cameron?_ She wanted to ask the question but didn't. Couldn't. "Monica told me." Elizabeth relaxed a little. Monica Quatermaine was Jason's stepmother, having married his father when he was but a teenager. "So he's in Port Charles, then. At Monica's." A few safe hours away from Pine Valley, where she and Jason and their son, Cameron, lived. _Their_ son. No matter what circumstances had led to Cameron's birth, she considered Jason to be his father in every way that counted. She believed that Jason felt the same. She realized he hadn't answered her. "Jason? AJ is...in Port Charles. Isn't he...?"

To be CONTINUED.

Please read and review. Tell me should I go on with this story.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to everyone who reviewed.

To: thewretchedchild-thanks for the review sorry for the underlines

Burtonlover-thanks for the review

Liasonfan1:You are so right Jason does have blue eyes. Sorry typo. Thanks for the review

Liasonlovr-thank you so much. I'm glad you like it.

Teyla Sheppard-Thanks a bunch. I agree with you we do need more Liason stories.

This story is completely AU but the characteristics of some of the characters are kind of the same.

Chapter 2 

Yeah. He's in Port Charles," Jason finally said.

Elizabetheyed her husband, thinking that she should feel more relief than she did.

If only she could read Jason's thoughts! But even after all these years, she couldn't begin to hazard a guess. He'd never been one to wear his emotions or his thoughts on his sleeve. Not with her, anyway. Jason...well her tall, and intense husband usually gave new meaning to the idea of one keeping their thoughts to themselves.

She realized she was chewing the inside of her lip and deliberately made herself stop. She wished Jason wouldn't stand in the doorway like that. It made her feel decidedly edgy. Even after all these years she was still overwhelmed by the feelings he roused in her. It wasn't just sexual, either. It was something entirely more complicated. And it was something she, alone, felt. She forced herself to focus on the topic at hand rather than the mystery that was her husband.

"Do you think AJ will come to Pine Valley, then? To see you, I mean?"

"To see you, more likely." Jason lifted one sun-bronzed shoulder in a faint shrug.

"He has no reason to want to see me," she said carefully.

She couldn't help but wonder what that shrug meant. So uncaring, yet somehow a hair too casual. Or maybe she was just looking for signs of...of something that wasn't there.

"_You're_ his brother, Jason."

"Half-brother."

She'd always thought it odd how both men had always made that particular distinction when referring to one another. They'd shared a father, with Jason nearly 10 years older than AJ, but the two men were as different from each other as night was from day. And they'd never gotten along. At all.

"Half, then," she allowed. "But it's been seven years since he went away. Of course he'll want to see you."

Just because she found the idea disgusting didn't mean it wasn't a possibility. The corner of Jason's mouth curled, but the movement held no amusement.

"Yeah. Maybe if he's screwed up and needs me to clean up the mess."

Elizabeth stiffened, feeling a pain deep down inside her. A pain that was with her always, even though she managed to ignore it for the most part. Time seemed to have a way of doing that, she'd learned. She pushed to her feet and looked up at Jason. Her husband in all ways save one — he didn't love her. He never had. And the pain inside stemmed from fear that he never would. She moistened lips gone dry.

"Like you had to clean up the mess he made with me, you mean," she whispered even as her heart silently cried out for him to deny it.

But only silence, thick as a humid summer day, hung between them...

_**To be continued...**_

_**I know you guys hate me but please.. Read & Review**_


	3. Chapter 3

I just want to say thank you everyone for the kinds words about my story. I didn't think people would like this story but I'm glad you guys do. Also I want to let you guys know that I will be updating Morgans Love on Saturday.

I just want to thank my beta Nikkibear624 for helping me with my story.

Chapter 3

After a seeming eternity, Jason made an impatient sound and shoved his heavy dark hair away from his sun-bronzed face. He pitched his shirt into the hamper, moving past her. "For God's sake, Elizabeth You know that's not what I meant."

"Do I?" She made herself speak matter-of-factly but it took a huge effort and even then she wasn't sure she succeeded. "We wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for...for — "

"For the fact that my half-brother left you alone and pregnant seven years ago? No, I guess we wouldn't have married."

Though it was true, having him state it in such an unemotional way hurt. Deeply. His eyes, so clear blue watched her intently. As if he were waiting for something. But what? She knew that Jason hadn't married her because he'd loved her. He'd married her because of his overwhelming sense of family responsibility.

She may have been foolish enough to fall in love with her own spouse along the way, but that didn't mean he'd done the same. "Jason, I..." she trailed off. She didn't know what to say.

"He'll probably stay in Port Charles. If he stays at all." Again, Jason seemed to be watching. Waiting.

"That'll please Monica," Elizabeth managed despite the knot in her throat. Before AJ took off all those years ago, Monica had doted on her son to the exclusion of everyone else, though she was admittedly fond of Jason. And she'd detested Elizabeth on sight. Monica hadn't changed much in the years since.

"Perhaps you should go there to see him." The suggestion came out, surprising even her.

"Why would I want to do that?"

"I don't know!" She struggled to control her voice. "To see what he's doing back in Port Charles since when he left he made it clear he never intended to return. To keep him from coming here, maybe. You can't possibly want him to see Cameron."

"Do _you_ want him to?"

"Of course not!"

"Then there's nothing to be concerned about." He reached into the tiled shower and flipped on the water with one hand even as he unfastened his leather belt with the other. With an ease that still managed to dry Elizabeth's throat, he shucked the rest of his clothes and stepped under the water.

On any other night, he might have hooked a long arm around her and pulled her — part protesting, part giggling, all delighted — under the water with him. But not tonight. Not tonight when they both knew his brother — half-brother — had returned after a seven-year absence.

But AJ wasn't only Jason's younger half-brother.

He'd been Elizabeth's first love. And before he took off, leaving her life in tatters, he'd unknowingly fathered the precious boy who slept in the bedroom at the end of the hall. The boy who called Jason "Daddy."

Elizabeth closed the cupboard door on the towels she'd finally succeeded at fitting inside, and picked up her husband's discarded clothing. She slowly pushed them into the hamper atop his shirt. Through the textured glass of the shower door, she could see his tall blurred form standing beneath the pounding water that was already sending curls of steam over the door.

Jason didn't think AJ would even want to see him unless it was to clean up one of his messes. Elizabeth couldn't say whether Jason's estimation of his half-brother was correct, or not. All she knew was that just the news of it seemed to have put a wall between her and Jason that had not existed even 10 minutes earlier. So she couldn't help the suspicion that AJ's return would change their lives, yet again...

_**To be continued...**_

_**Please Read & Review**_


	4. chapter 4

Thanks again to everyone for the reviews. Thanks to my beta reader Nikkibear624.

Chapter Four

"Mom? Who's that man?"

Elizabeth transferred the last sack of groceries from the cart to the trunk of her car. "What man?"

"Him."

She followed Cameron's pointing finger and felt her stomach drop through the snow-dusted earth beneath her boots. She wanted to turn tail and hustle Cameron back inside the grocery but it was already too late. He'd spotted her, flashed a smile and headed straight in her direction.

_Nothing to be concerned about?_

AJ was as different from his older half-brother, Jason, as spring was from fall. At 22 he'd been all bronzed skin, chestnut hair, and smoky brown eyes. At 29, he was...even more so.

Elizabeth swallowed down a jolt of nausea and nudged Cameron toward the car. "Get inside the car, sweetheart. The wind is getting really cold."

"But who's the man waving at us?"

"Nobody." She practically frog-jumped him toward the passenger door and yanked it open. "Come on, kiddo. In you go. I don't want your cold coming back again." She pointed at the package sitting on the middle of the seat that her best friend, Emily Cassadine had given her earlier that day. "You can open that now, if you like. It's a new video game from Emily." Emily's husband, Nikolas Cassadine among other things also designed video games. His new company, CeeVid, had just opened an office right in Pine Valley. "I think she said it's the one that will be released next year."

Thankfully, Cameron dove for the package with fiendish glee. He loved getting an advance crack at the games that had become exceedingly popular. Not that Elizabeth was surprised. Everything Nikolas Cassadine touched seemed to turn to gold. What Elizabeth liked most about Nikolas, though, was his ability to make Emily happier than she'd ever been in her life.

She pushed the car door shut just as she heard the scrape of a boot behind her. Bracing herself, she turned and came face-to-face with AJ's blinding white smile.

"I would recognize those auburn curls of yours anywhere," he said cheerfully, and before Elizabeth could guess his intentions, he'd put his hands on her hips and lifted her right off the ground to swing her in a half circle.

Pure shock held her silent for a long moment. Then she grabbed for his shoulders. "Put me down!"

He laughed and set her on her feet, but her relief was short-lived when he leaned over and kissed her full on the lips. "You're as sweet as ripe peaches, Elizabeth Webber. Just the way I remember you."

Elizabeth couldn't have said a word to save her soul.

"Well? Don't you have a smile for an old friend?"

"Old friend?" She parroted.

He grinned, as seemingly oblivious to her discomfort at the arms he still had looped loosely around her as he was to the snowflakes that had begun to fall. "Well, Elizabeth girl, we did have some good times, didn't we?" His gaze flicked toward the car. "But you're probably an old married lady by now, if the looks of that boy is anything to go by. So who's the lucky guy?"

"I am," a grim voice said behind them, startling them both. "And I'd appreciate it if you'd stop necking out here on the middle of Main Street."

Elizabeth stared, dismayed, at Jason who'd appeared out of nowhere. She was faintly aware of AJ's arms dropping away and his astonished "_You?_" even as her knees went weak and her vision blurred.

It was her every nightmare come to life, she thought faintly as the world around her faded to an odd, wavy gray. "Jason," she whispered...and everything went black.


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks to everyone for reviewing! Also thank you my beta reader. And for those of you with questions be patient and you all should find the answers you seek!

Chapter Five

AJ was standing closer to her than Jason. He caught Elizabeth in his arms just as she crumpled.

Jason's hands curled into fists. The sight of his wife in his half-brother's arms bit into his gut like a vicious dog. He yanked open the rear door of Elizabeth's car. "Here," he said shortly. He brushed his hand over Cameron's head as the boy leaned over the back of the front seat, his eyes wide.

AJ, having settled Elizabeth on the back seat, backed away. Jason rounded the car and climbed behind the wheel, starting the engine with a savage motion. He shot out of the parking slot, marginally aware of AJ jumping out of the way, and drove straight to the doctor's.

"Daddy? Is Mommy sick?" Cameron's face was pinched and pale.

"She'll be okay," Jason promised gruffly. He turned sharply and pulled into the parking lot of the medical clinic, parking right in front of the entrance. "Grab Mommy's purse," he told Cameron. He went around to the back and gently lifted Elizabeth from the seat.

In just the few steps to get to the clinic, snowflakes fell on her hair, glistening like diamonds against her auburn curls. He carried her inside, Cameron trotting behind. "She needs the doc," he said, heading right past the receptionist toward the examining rooms.

It helped that he was familiar with the new Pine Valley medical clinic. He ought to be, considering he'd helped build it, fitting in the work between the hours he spent doing his real work as a cutting horse trainer. The door to the second room was open and he carried Elizabeth inside, lowering her to the high, padded exam table.

Elizabeth's eyes opened and she stared up at him, confusion clearly written in her tawny eyes. She started to sit up. "Jason? What happened? Where — "

"So, what's the problem here?" Dr. Rebecca Clay glided into the room, moving around Jason to look at Elizabeth. She'd already flashed a light in Elizabeth's eyes before anyone could speak.

"I just...I got a little dizzy. That's all."

"She passed out cold," Jason corrected grimly.

"Don't be ridiculous," Elizabeth said defensively. "I'm fine. I guess I'm hungry. I missed lunch and — "

"And we'll just talk for a minute, okay?" Rebecca was calm as she managed to quietly, but implacably, nudge Jason and Cameron from the room. "My nurse, Gloria, brought in brownies to the office today," she whispered with a quick wink to Cameron after assuring him that his mom would be just fine. "They're in the reception area if you want one."

"I want to know what's wrong with my mom first," Cameron said, all young male and determined.

Somehow, the sight of his son looking the doctor's square in the eyes that way made Jason's tension ease a little. "Come on, pal. Relax." He closed his hand over Cameron's shoulder. "It'll just be a few minutes. Then we'll take your mom home and make sure she eats that lunch she missed. Right?"

Cameron didn't look too enthusiastic, but he nodded and went in search of the brownies.

"You have one, also, Jason." Rebecca's voice was soft, but firm. "Give me a minute with her alone. We won't be long."

He looked over the top of the doctor's head. If Elizabeth gave one indication that she wanted him to stay, there was nothing the physician could do to keep him away. But Elizabeth's gaze met his for only a moment before she looked aside.

"Go relax, Jason," Rebecca urged again and with nothing else to be done about it, Jason joined Cameron in the reception area.

But relax? He doubted it.

Particularly when he saw AJ step into the office and look around...

_Please Read and Review Everyone_


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you everyone who has reviewed! I have a treat for the people who have read my other stories Morgan's Love I have two chapters already completed and I will be posting them soon. So if you have read this story and are enjoying it but have not read my other one should take the chance to read it. Thanks! I also want to thank my beta.

Particularly when he saw AJ step into the office and look around...

Chapter 5

"Have you had other episodes of dizziness?"

Elizabeth finished buttoning her blouse and started to shake her head. "Well, a few, yes" she admitted to Rebecca, flicking a glance at her. There was something about the female physician that inspired trust. "But nothing this bad."

"Nausea? Missed periods?"

She felt the blood drain from her head and sank back against the exam table. "You think I'm pregnant?"

Rebecca lips twitched. "You know better than I at this point, Elizabeth. Is it a possibility? Might as well look at the most obvious explanation first, don't you agree?"

Despite everything, she and Jason had never discussed having more children together. They'd married because of Cameron and anything beyond that had never been an issue. Perhaps that was odd, considering how long they'd been together, but Jason had never brought it up, and Elizabeth had taken her cue from him. Besides, she'd been too busy trying to walk the tightrope of being a wife without letting her husband know that she'd gone beyond their original arrangement by actually falling in love with him.

"I suppose it's a possibility," she admitted, feeling the color return to her face with a vengeance. Though for what reason, she couldn't say. She and Jason _were_ married, after all. "But I'd have to be pretty early along. And I really think that it's unlikely..."

"Let's run a test to be certain. Okay?"

Ten minutes later, Elizabeth walked out of Rebecca's office, feeling more dazed than when she'd come to and found herself in Jason's arms in the exam room.

The scene that greeted her, however, was a blow she could have done without.

Jason standing near the wall, his expression closed.

AJ sitting on a chair next to Cameron, their two heads close as they looked at the handheld video game that Cameron was playing with.

"What are you doing?" Her voice was sharper than she intended.

Cameron's head lifted and he bounded over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "You're okay?"

She leaned over and kissed his forehead. "I'm fine," she assured him. Then she straightened and looked at her husband. "Nothing to worry about at all. I'd like to go home, now, though."

"Hey, great," AJ pushed to his feet. "Ma told me that Jason there built a house with his own two hands. Could hardly believe it. Can't wait to see it. I guess that's the house you two share. Strange how Ma never said you guys were hitched."

"No!" She flushed and looked at Jason, wishing that he would _say_ something. She wasn't surprised at all that Monica hadn't mentioned her. The woman would prefer to pretend she didn't exist at all. "I mean...perhaps another time. I am feeling a bit tired."

AJ shrugged. "Sure. Whenever. I'll be around a while, after all."

At that, Jason looked over at his half-brother. "Why?"

"Because I'm going to be working at CeeVid. I'm moving to Pine Valley, man. I thought Ma told you all this. Isn't it great? It'll be almost like old times again."

Elizabeth felt Jason's eyes like a physical thing. "Sure," he said sardonically. "Like old times."

_**To be continued...**_

_**Read & Review**_


	7. Chapter 7

Thank You everone who likes this story. I would also like to thank my beta. P.S To InAMoment I would love to be apart of your C2 community. Thank You for asking. Also I want everyone to know that the more reviews I get the more quicker I update.

Chapter Seven

Jason stood in the dark bedroom looking down at the twin-sized bed and the sprawling lump hanging half off it. Elizabeth had joked often enough that Cameron could sleep standing on his head in a snowbank and Jason suspected it was close enough to truth.

Once Cameron had wound down enough from the excitement of the day, he'd hit the hay hard.

He leaned over and smoothly lifted his son's head and shoulders back onto the mattress. Cameron, predictably, didn't stir. Not even when Jason pulled the quilt up over his shoulders, nor when he suddenly sat on the side of the bed, his weight denting the mattress.

A good part of him wanted to scoop up the boy and hold on tight. Never let him go. Cameron was his. _His_. He had been since the day Jason had talked a brokenhearted, desperate girl named Elizabeth Webber with corkscrew curls out of giving up her baby for adoption and into marrying him.

But the truth was, even then he'd expected this day to come. Seven weeks, seven months, seven years. What did it matter? Jason had known even then that he was living on borrowed time with his beautiful wife and son. Because sooner or later either the man she'd loved, his half-brother, would return; or she'd fall for someone else. Someone who'd be able to give her the large family she'd once dreamt of having.

"Jason? What is it? It's after midnight. Is Cameron all right?"

His head shot up at the whisper. Elizabeth was padding into the room, her arms hugged around herself the way she had of doing when she was chilled.

"He's fine." He stood and watched her smooth her hand over Cameron's tousled head. "You're cold. You should get back in bed."

She turned and looked up at him, lifting one hand to push back the hair that hung in wild curls half way down the back of the faded blue football jersey she must have appropriated from his side of the closet. The movement made the too-wide neck of the shirt slide down one ivory-smooth shoulder.

Desire, hard and hot, ripped through him. He very nearly reached for her. But the knowledge that she'd passed out just from the mere sight of his half-brother kept his hands to himself.

"What about you?" she asked.

Dark amusement curled through him as he followed her into the hall and quietly pulled Cameron's door closed. "I'll be along." Once he'd stuck his head out in the cold night air that was.

She took a few steps along the hallway toward their bedroom. Then stopped. Turned back, looking at him. Her eyes were shadows in the dim light. "Jason, are...are _you_ all right?"

His amusement died. "Why?"

"I just — You aren't . . . well — "

"Spit it out, curly cue."

Her soft lips trembled at the nickname, then firmed. "You seem . . . I don't know. Upset. Ever since you told me about, about — "

"Can't you say his name?"

She made a soft sound. "You _are_ upset. You haven't even come to bed."

"Did you want me to?"

Her lips parted. "Of course I want you to get some sleep. You're up every day before dawn and — "

"Sleep."

She cast him a look he couldn't read, then just as quickly looked away. "You're my husband."

He didn't know what devil drove him. "And that's why you want me to come to bed."

"Actually," her soft voice sounded strained. "I think we need to talk . . . "

Please don't hate me! Read and Review.


	8. Chapter 8

Thank You everyone for the warm compliments. I never knew that so many people would like this story. I just want to thank my beta for the help. I hope this chapter answers some of the questions that many people have been wondering.

Chapter Eight

_We need to talk_. Jason figured those had to be four of the most god awful words around. They were never a prelude to something good.

He looked at Elizabeth. He'd married her. He'd loved seeing her pregnant. Getting big and round with her baby, she'd been everything he'd ever thought a woman could possibly be. Containing his desire for her during that time had just about killed him. But he'd done it. And after the baby came, after they'd settled into a new routine with the three of them, right here in this house that back then had been little more than a weather-tight skeleton, it was Elizabeth who had finally come to him. Elizabeth, who'd shyly told him that she was ready to be a real wife.

It had been the night before their first wedding anniversary, he remembered. With no effort at all he could recall every single detail of that night. From the way her hair had flowed wild and abandoned across the white sheets to the way her breath had caught in her throat when they'd joined together for the first time, to the way he'd lost control with her like he had never done before.

But she'd still been in love with AJ. It had been AJ's name that she'd mumbled night after night in her sleep while she'd tossed and turned, caught in the grip of a dream that Jason's imagination had no trouble whatsoever deciphering.

Yeah, she'd loved his fun-loving half-brother all right. And to his dying day he'd remember that particular fact.

"Let's just make it quick," he said evenly. "AJ's back. Apparently to stay. You don't have to tell me how you feel about him."

"But that wasn't — "

"I'll find a new place to stay in the morning. Unless you want to move out instead. I'd just as soon not sell this place, though, if you don't mind. We can work something out about the land and the stables." He didn't know what, though. He trained cutting horses. He needed space to do it.

She'd gone pale. Even in the dim light he could see it. He caught her arms in his hands. She was so cold he could feel the goose bumps on her satiny skin.

"Are you going to pass out again?"

She wrenched out of his arms. "No, I am not. What do you mean, _move_ out? What on earth are you talking about?"

On the best of occasions, Jason didn't figure he had an over-abundance of patience. And now, it was in seriously meager supply. "You and AJ."

"Me and AJ . . . _what_?"

"I saw you two today, remember? Climbing down each other's throats."

Elizabeth felt Jason's words like a physical slap. "He kissed _me_," she said stiffly.

"And you fainted dead away."

"I was shocked. And . . . and hungry."

Jason didn't respond to that. She stared at him, feeling the very foundation of her world cracking right beneath her feet. But how could that be when they were standing in their very own hall right outside their bedroom?

Her voice felt brittle as she forced the question past her numb lips. "What exactly are you saying here, Jason?"

_**To be continued...**_

_**I know short..I'll try to update real soon! Please Read and Review!**_


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks for all the reviews! I know a lot of you don't like my short chapters and I'm sorry but usually these chapters just occur to me and then after awhile I run out of things to write about. I'm sorry but I don't really have a muse and I run out of ideas and I have to wait for the next inspiration to strike. So sorry guys and I will try my best!

Chapter Nine

Elizabeth waited, feeling on the edge of a bottomless chasm. Jason's tall form filled her vision. A button looked loose on the front of his denim shirt, she noticed, and felt the urge to scream rise inside her.

"You can have Alexis Davis represent you if you want," he said. His voice was low. Husky. "She's right here in town, so it'll be convenient for you. I'll find a lawyer from over in Port Charles."

Had she ever felt this cold in her life? Only by clenching her jaw was she able to keep her teeth from chattering. "Lawyers. You . . . want a divorce, then. That's what you're saying."

He didn't answer immediately and she felt a quick dart of hope. But then he silently inclined his head. Just once. And hope died.

Jason no longer wanted her as his wife.

Maybe later she'd appreciate the irony of the situation. Unwanted by both brothers in one lifetime. But right now, right this minute, she could barely draw breath. "And Cameron?"

Finally, Jason showed some emotion. His jaw cocked to one side and he shoved one hand through his hair, leaving it in disheveled black waves that made her fingers long to stroke back from his brow. "You can have anything you want, Elizabeth. But I won't lose my son."

_No, you'll just throw away your wife._ The cry went unspoken. One thing was clear. If she didn't leave his presence right this second, she was going to break down. "You built this place," she said stiffly. "You'll stay here."

Then she turned on her heel and went into their bedroom. She pushed the door closed, hearing it latch very, very quietly. Her vision blurred as she leaned back against the door panel. After a long moment, she heard the creak of a floor board. The scrape of a boot.

And then . . . nothing.

She slid down the door and buried her face in her hands, tears slowly scalding their way down her cheeks.

"What do you mean you and Cameron have moved into Rebecca's old apartment?"

Despite the horrified question from Emily, Elizabeth continued sorting mail into the post office boxes. She tried to have the mail in the boxes by 10:00 every morning. The townspeople counted on it. "I mean we've moved. As of yesterday."

"But . . . but _why_?"

She wouldn't cry. She just would not. She'd spent all last night in tears, muffling them in her pillow so she wouldn't disturb Cameron in the next room. He'd made no secret of his confusion of the turn of events that had them hastily packing some of their clothes and moving from their wood-surrounded ranch house to the apartment that had once been Dr. Rebecca's home before she'd married Sawyer Clay.

Elizabeth was confused, too.

And surely by now there weren't any tears left inside her.

"Ask Jason," she told her friend. "He's the one who decided it." She slotted the last letter and slammed shut the hinged metal door.

"Nikolas hasn't said anything to me. He and Jason are best friends but I don't think Jason's told him a thing." Emily's brown eyes were shocked behind her delicate gold-framed glasses.

She followed Elizabeth back out to the front counter of the small — and mercifully empty — post office. "I don't understand this. I thought you guys were the perfect couple."

So much for not having any tears left. "You and Nikolas are the perfect couple," Elizabeth corrected. She dashed her fingers across her damp cheek and blindly began straightening the mailing supplies stacked on the counter. "You love him and he loves you."

Emily frowned. "What are you saying? Don't you love him?"

The slippery express mail envelopes scattered all over again. "Yes, I love Jason. But he doesn't love me, Emily," she admitted miserably. "He never has. And I need to start facing the fact that he never will."

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	10. Chapter 10

Thanks everyone who reviewed. To you lurkers out there, please, if you have the time to read my story I would love it if you could review the story. I live for the feedbacks. This chapter is just to let you guys know a little bit of the past. Thanks to my beta

Chapter Ten

Emily was staring at Elizabeth after she'd told her the real bare bones of her marriage as if she'd never seen her before.

"When you eloped with Jason, it seemed like the most romantic thing ever. I can't believe you never told me the truth. That you bore all that worry alone. I was off at college, but still — "

Elizabeth pressed her fingertips against her aching temples.

"I couldn't tell you. It was so humiliating, Emily. Once A.J. got what he wanted from me — " her lips pressed together for a moment " — he headed on down the road just like my mother warned me he would. But I wouldn't listen. I had visions of becoming A.J. Quatermaine's bride. His wants were rather less romantic."

"And A.J. left town before you learned you were pregnant with Cameron. Then, in steps big brother and you became Jason Morgan's bride instead."

It was a simplistic explanation but Elizabeth didn't have the energy to correct her friend. The truth of the matter was much more complicated.

"Essentially."

"Jason was protecting you. He cared about you, even then, Elizabeth. For goodness' sake, he was at the height of his rodeo career. He was one of the top competitors in the PRCA."

Elizabeth swallowed. Nodded. He'd not only given up his career, but his inheritance from his father that Monica had controlled, all to ensure that her child remained a Quatermaine.

Monica had detested Elizabeth badly enough that after their quiet elopement, she'd packed up her house in Pine Valley and moved to the more populated Port Charles. She'd always considered Elizabeth beneath her, mostly because Monica and Elizabeth's mother had never gotten on. Even in a town as small as Pine Valley, there had been definite attitudes. And Monica had it in spades.

Jason hadn't let any of his stepmother's disapproval deter him, however. Heavens, he'd been a grown man and not given to taking orders from anyone, much less his stepmother. Which had further cemented Monica's dislike of Elizabeth. Since then, Jason had built up his reputation as one of the best cutting horse trainers in the country and even now his schedule was booked at least two years out. He still visited Monica regularly, and Elizabeth generally went along. But the woman's attitude hadn't changed much over the years.

"Then surely that tells you how much Jason cared. He wouldn't have _had_ to marry you, Elizabeth. He might have found other ways to help. He was — "

"Was protecting my child," Elizabeth interrupted. "Because he knew, I was going to have to give the baby up for adoption."

She pressed her palm to her abdomen at the terrible memory. Her mother had been nearly incapacitated with her penchant for alcohol. Elizabeth supported them as best she could since she'd been 15. That summer, after Elizabeth graduated from high school, A.J. had left town and his mother, Monica, had assured Elizabeth that he wasn't likely to return. She'd been only 18 years old, but she'd known she couldn't hope to provide a suitable life for her child no matter how badly she'd wanted to keep the baby.

Jason had been back in town during that time recovering from several cracked ribs and he'd learned of Elizabeth's predicament when he'd come across her crying right here in this very post office.

Elizabeth had never felt so alone as she had then. She'd had no means to support a child, no matter how much she wanted the baby. Abortion for her was simply out of the question. She'd known she'd have to give up her child for adoption. But Jason had offered an alternative. And though she'd first refused, he'd hung around for weeks, gently, casually, inexorably changing her mind in that quiet way he had.

"Jason latched onto A.J.'s return like a drowning man, Emily."

Elizabeth still could hardly believe what had occurred.

"He _wanted_ out, obviously. And now he's got an excuse that his conscience can apparently live with. He even told me to hire Alexis Davis to represent me in our divorce."

Emily frowned. "But he's never given you, any indication that he wanted out of your marriage before, has he?"

_**To be continued . . . **_

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	11. Chapter 11

Thanks everone for reviewing!

Chapter Eleven

Elizabeth sank onto a high stool and buried her face in her hands.

"Oh, Emily I don't know if there have been signs. All I knew was that I fell in love with Jason. He gave up so much for Cameron and me. I didn't deserve him. I never wanted to hurt him or bring him harm."

Emily tsked and slid a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"Who says you have? Or that you didn't deserve him? For goodness' sake, Liz. You two have been together for years. I've never thought Jason was the kind of man who'd put up with an unacceptable situation for seven minutes, much less seven years. You need to tell him how you feel!"

"So he can feel sorry for me all over again like he did when A.J. dumped me? I can't face that, Emily. I just can't. If there's one thing this has made me realize it is that I can't keep on this way."

Her hands pressed unconsciously against her abdomen.

"I won't be just a responsibility to him."

Emily sighed. "I can't believe A.J. is going to be working at CeeVid," she muttered. "And he really doesn't suspect anything about Cameron?"

"No. And he's not going to, if I have anything to say about it. Jason may not want me, but he _is_ Cameron's father. On that, at least, we agree. Some day we'll tell Cameron when he's old enough to understand. But not now. Not yet."

Both women looked up when the bell over the door tinkled softly. At the sight of her handsome hunk of a husband entering, Emily patted Elizabeth on the back.

"You and Cameron come to dinner tonight," she said softly before moving around the counter toward Nikolas and the baby he held.

"I can't," Elizabeth said. "There's a parent/teacher meeting at school."

"Tomorrow then," Emily insisted. "And I know you probably don't feel like company, but if you don't come to us, we'll come to you. Promise me, now."

"Marriage has made you bossy," Elizabeth observed, striving for some sense of normalcy.

"Motherhood has made her bossy," Nikolas Cassadine corrected, his smile crooked and utterly indulgent.

"And your son here is making it obvious that there are some things he prefers you for, sweetpea."

Elizabeth watched Nikolas transfer the blanket-bundled baby Eric from his arms to Emily's as they left with a wave. If ever there was a man besotted with his wife and child, it was a former jet-setter named Nikolas Cassadine.

She closed her eyes and wished she were a better person. The kind of person who wouldn't feel envious of her very best friend's happiness.

Then the bell jingled again signaling the steady start of postal customers and Elizabeth could only be grateful, for it gave her little time to sit and brood.

She didn't take a break until lunch. Even then she sat in the back where she still had a view of the front counter. Her sandwich held little appeal, but she forced a few bites down, mindful of what Dr. Rebecca had told her. The door chimes jingled and she was glad of the interruption from her depressing thoughts. She tossed away the half-eaten sandwich and went out front.

Her stomach lurched unsteadily.

"Jason," she breathed. Had he changed his mind?

"What are you doing here?"

_**To be continued . . . **_

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	12. Chapter 12

Thanks again everyone!

Chapter Twelve

It had been two hellish days since Elizabeth had silently moved out of their home. And the sight of her was like glimpsing sunshine through a blizzard.

Before he did something stupid, like beg Elizabeth to come home whether she loved someone else or not, Jason set the small duffel bag on the counter. "Cameron called me."

A look he couldn't decipher flitted through her eyes.

"When? He's in school right now."

Jason dragged his gaze away from her face, only to be distracted by the sweet shape of her breasts beneath her sunny-yellow, skinny-knitted sweater. He realized that Elizabeth was still waiting.

"This morning. Before school," he said.

"He wanted this stuff. Told me you'd said to drop it by here."

"I didn't . . . " Elizabeth unzipped the bag, peering inside.

She frowned a little and pulled out a pair of high-top from the jumble of trading cards and balls and CeeVid games.

"Are you sure? He outgrew these shoes months ago, Jason. Perhaps he meant another pair or something."

Hearing, his name on her lips had always driven him a little nuts. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his aging down vest so they wouldn't do something stupid. Like reach for her.

"There are no other pairs. You left his closet very nearly empty, which you know good and well."

She blinked and slowly drew the zipper closed.

"What did you expect? That I'd leave behind half of his things? This was your idea, remember?"

And she hadn't uttered so much as one protest. His fingers tightened into fists.

"Have you talked to Alexis Davis yet?"

Her chin angled. "I didn't realize you were in such a hurry."

He swore. "Elizabeth — "

But she waved her hand, shaking her head.

"Just . . . go away, Jason. I'll make sure Cameron gets this bag."

"You're still going to bring him home for the weekend, right?"

They'd agreed to that in excruciatingly polite tones before she'd begun packing up the contents of his son's closet.

She turned away, setting the duffel behind the counter.

"I said I would, didn't I?" Her voice was muffled and he wondered for an impossible moment if she was crying. But when she turned around again, tossing her glorious curls around her slender shoulders, her tawny eyes were bright but dry.

"Is there anything else?"

She'd spoken to him like he was merely a postal customer, and nothing more.

Sure in hell not as if he were the man who'd shared her bed and her body for the better part of their life together. His hands came out of his pocket and he leaned over the counter, thrusting one hand unerringly through the silky coils of her hair to curl about her neck and catching her shoulder in the other.

He caught the shocked expression on her face in the bare moment before his mouth covered hers . . .

_**To be continued**_

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	13. Chapter 13

First off I have to say WOW! When I first started this story I did not think that it would get this much great feedback. I just want to say thank you all for your kind words. AngelOnWheels: Thank You So Much for saying that!

Chapter Thirteen

Kissing Elizabeth now was the same as it had always been, Jason thought. Like trying to capture wildfires.

She made a soft sound, her lips parting beneath his. He caught her face between his hands, angling her head. Plundering. Inhaling. Savoring.

The wildfire spread as easily as a flame through dry grass when he felt her small, slender fingers touch his jaw. Tentative at first. Then more surely as she pushed them through his hair, cradling his head.

His own hands drifted down her back, up her sides, feeling the uneven breath she drew lifting her rib cage and her heart pounding in her breasts that so perfectly fit his palms. Even through the ribbed knit he could feel the peaks tightening under the thumbs he brushed over her.

She moaned, her back arching, and he reached for the hem of her sweater.

One thinking part of his brain cursed the counter separating them.

And then Elizabeth was twisting her head away from his.

"No. No, Jason, we can't."

He went still. Slowly withdrew his damnable hands from her and planted them flat on the counter.

His head bowed and he hauled in a long breath.

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

"I shouldn't have done that."

But he wasn't sorry. He'd never been sorry for wanting her. Maybe that was his own terrible luck. Or his own personal hell. Wanting the woman, who wanted A.J., his half-brother.

Elizabeth's knees were water. She could barely breathe for the way her heart thundered in her chest. She didn't know what to say or what to do.

Everything inside her urged her to hurry around to Jason's side of the counter and pull his head down to hers, regardless of the fact that they were standing right there in front of God and Country and whatever Pine Valley postal customer decided to come into the post office.

Only he was sorry he'd kissed her.

He hadn't changed his mind about anything.

"I think you'd better go," she whispered.

He shoved back his hair, his depth less blue eyes watching her for a long moment. Then he nodded abruptly.

"Tell Cameron I'll call him before bedtime," he said.

Then he walked out the door, leaving the little bell jingling after him.

Elizabeth's vision blurred. She stood there until the sound of the bell had long faded. Until finally, feeling an ache in her soul, she went through the back room to the small restroom in the very rear.

And there, she lost the meager lunch she'd managed to consume.

After, she rinsed her mouth and splashed water over her face and looked at her pale reflection in the small mirror over the sink.

What on earth was she going to do?

She was no longer an 18-year-old girl with no resources whatsoever. And yet, once again, she'd found herself pregnant by a man who no longer wanted her . . .

_**To be continued...**_

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	14. Chapter 14

Thank You everyone for reviewing my story! There are only about five or six more chapters left. So stay with me until then.

Chapter Fourteen

The jingle of the door drew Elizabeth like a magnet. She dashed out, her silly heart thinking it might be Jason again.

But her feet stopped short at the sight of A.J..

"What do you want?"

A.J. held up a wrapped parcel.

"Doing business on my lunch hour, Lizzy girl."

She could hardly ignore him, even though she wanted to. She weighed the package and reached for the cash he held out. When she did, he linked his fingers with hers and leaned toward her, over the counter. He smiled, looking revoltingly secure in his own charm.

She twisted against his hold and wondered what on earth she'd ever seen in him.

"Let me go, A.J.."

He didn't.

"So how on earth did you end up shackled to dull Jason?"

"He's not dull," she said coldly.

She finally managed to extricate herself from his grip. "Jason's done more with his life than you could ever hope for."

And she suspected that A.J. had always been envious of that.

"The only thing interesting that Jason ever did was the rodeo. But he hung up his bevy of buckle bunnies when he married you, I suppose."

"Having a _bevy_ was much more your style than Jason's."

Not because Jason wasn't as attractive as his younger brother. In fact, Jason was far more intense than A.J., a fact that had as much to do with Jason's personality as it did with his thick blonde hair, carved features, and mesmerizing blue eyes.

Mesmerizing blue eyes that no longer wanted to look on her as his wife, she reminded herself harshly.

She counted out A.J.'s change and set it on the counter between them. She wasn't taking a chance that he would grab her hand again.

"What are you really doing back in Pine Valley, A.J.? You can't expect me to believe it's because you _missed _it here."

"I got a good offer from CeeVid," he said.

"Don't act as if they sought you out," Elizabeth countered immediately. "I wouldn't believe it and I can easily find out the truth."

His lips thinned. "So I approached them. Big deal. I'm good at what I do and they hired me."

"But why Pine Valley, A.J.? CeeVid has other offices."

Nothing about the last few days made any sense. Surely _this _was something that could be explained, though.

"What are you doing? Hiding out from some woman you led on?"

He looked away for a moment and Elizabeth knew instinctively that her sarcastic comment had been much closer to the mark than she'd expected. But then he was grinning that look-at-me-I'm-so-charming grin again.

"So, what do you think, Lizzy girl. Might be nice if we were friendly-like since we're gonna be neighbors."

"I don't think so."

"Afraid big brother wouldn't approve?"

"Since it is apparent to most of this town by now that I've moved out, I guess that hardly matters now, does it?"

"Why did you? Move out, I mean."

Elizabeth didn't answer that. She had no intentions of letting A.J. know that he'd had any affect on her marriage.

Fortunately, A.J. seemed content to have his question go unanswered.

"Jason always did like acting the hero," he said smoothly, instead.

Elizabeth swallowed. She didn't know what this turn of conversation meant, but she knew she didn't feel comfortable with it.

"W-What do you mean?"

He lifted one shoulder in a motion eerily like Jason's.

"Well, he's the one who got the girl, now isn't he?"

_**To be continued...**_

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	15. Chapter 15

**Well I finally updated. Thanks for all the reviews. Sorry for the short chapter but I just wanted to hurry up and give you guys this chapter. Story's almost finished guys.**

**Chapter Fifteen**

Driving to Emily and Nikolas's house on the other side of town later the next evening, Elizabeth couldn't contain a shudder at the memory of A.J.'s words. She didn't know why it hadn't occurred to her that A.J. might be staying at the motel that comprised the rest of the building where Rebecca's apartment was located.

For years, the place had been the only motel in town. But since CeeVid had come to town, bringing with it a rush of new growth, one of the national chains had opened a motel on the opposite end of town. Foolish of Elizabeth to assume that he'd have chosen the new place.

It had to be her preoccupation over that fact that kept her from noticing the familiar black pickup truck already parked alongside Emily and Nikolas's sprawling place. But Cameron noticed Jason's vehicle. He bounded out of Elizabeth's car before she'd barely stopped.

"Daddy's here!"

A sudden knot tied itself in Elizabeth's stomach. She wanted to drive away. To run and hide and continue licking her wounds. But Emily had already thrown open the wide front door of her home, letting Cameron inside as she walked toward Elizabeth's car.

"I didn't know," she said quickly.

"This is Nikolas's doing. Please don't turn around and drive away."

Elizabeth sighed and climbed out of the car.

"Cameron saw that he's here. It's too late to back out."

She made herself shrug even as she wished she'd changed out of the blue jeans and flannel shirt that she'd worn to work.

But then, why should she dress up for a husband who'd more than made it clear he wanted out of their marriage? She followed Emily into the house and realized she was pressing her lips together, unconsciously urging some color into them.

It was immediately clear when she followed Emily into the kitchen where Jason had his hip perched on a high barstool that he'd not been expecting to see her, either.

"Hello, Jason. How are you?"

Then felt her cheeks flame at such inane politeness.

His lips twisted a little. But there was no denying the pleasure on his face when he glanced down at Cameron, who seemed to have forgotten his too-big-for-hugs stage, and had thrown his arms around his dad's waist.

Elizabeth turned away, an ache deep behind her eyes. She blindly picked up a knife and a burstingly ripe tomato that was sitting on the cutting board. Emily caught her gaze and must have read the desperation in them for she calmly announced to the men that, unless they wanted to finish cooking supper themselves, they needed to get out from under foot.

They went. So hurriedly that under other circumstances, Elizabeth would have laughed right out loud.

Instead, she found herself trying not to flinch when Jason's arm brushed her shoulder as he and Cameron moved past. But she still felt his touch reverberate through her. And she still seemed to taste his kiss on her lips.

She couldn't help looking up at him, only to find his eyes watching her closely. As if he, too, was remembering the previous afternoon when he'd kissed her as if there were no tomorrow . . .

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	16. Chapter 16

**Thank you everyone for the reviews! Hope you like this chapter! I think there is only four chapters left. But I'm not sure yet. So enjoy!**

**Chapter Sixteen**

Elizabeth must have imagined that heated look in Jason's eyes. He stepped past her, his "'scuze me" barely audible.

Once they were alone in the kitchen, Emily gently nudged the swinging door closed, assuring them even more privacy.

"Talk about some serious vibes," she murmured as she slid the butcher's knife out of Elizabeth's hand and replaced it with the head of lettuce she'd just washed.

"Tear that up instead," she suggested.

"Safer than having you cut off a finger."

Elizabeth's fingers tightened, easily reducing the head into quarters.

"He has a helluva nerve," she muttered.

Emily's eyebrows lifted. "Why's that?"

"Coming into the post office yesterday. Kissing me senselessly. Then apologizing."

Bits of lettuce flew as she tossed bite-size pieces into the salad bowl that Emily had set out.

"The nerve, indeed."

"And A.J. with his stupid comments. I swear, Emily, I'm beginning to think moving away from Pine Valley might just be a good idea. There's an opening at the Salem post office. I saw the notice today."

Emily looked startled.

"You don't really mean that, do you? Pine Valley's your home."

Elizabeth's shoulders slumped.

"No. I don't really mean it. Oh, why did A.J. have to come back _now_ of all times?"

"Maybe it's high time he did," Emily said softly.

"I..._what_?"

Her friend shrugged, looking faintly apologetic.

"If it makes you and Jason wake up to each other, then I can only think that's a good thing."

She tossed tomato wedges into the salad bowl and reached for a cucumber.

"You said yourself that you were in love with your husband, Elizabeth. Maybe it's time you told him so. Particularly considering the circumstances."

Her voice was pointed as her gaze flicked to Elizabeth's midriff.

Elizabeth sank down onto the bar stool.

"How'd you guess? Did Rebecca tell you?"

"Of course she didn't. Just because she's my sister-in-law doesn't mean she'd break a confidence with a patient."

Emily poured a glass of lemonade and set it in front of Elizabeth.

"I recognized some of the signs. That fainting episode, for one thing. And you have that _look_."

"Great," Elizabeth laughed brokenly, her forehead pressed to her palm.

"Pretty soon the whole town'll know, too. Seeing as how it's so obvious to others."

"Obvious to me," Emily chided gently.

"You know that you _must_ tell Jason."

"I know. I know. Things are just such a mess."

"Then put on some gloves and clean up the mess. You know I used to envy you, Elizabeth. Because you had so much more freedom when we were kids than I did. Gram was so strict about everything. My dress, school, church, my friends."

"Your grandmother cared." Elizabeth said.

"My mother — before she died — didn't much care _what_ I did as long as it didn't interfere with the path to her gin bottle."

"What I failed to realize when we were kids, though, was that what I perceived as your freedom was far outweighed by the responsibilities you bore. And for whatever reason, it's left you feeling like you're undeserving of the love that any wife should feel right in expecting from her husband."

"Just because you and Nikolas didn't start your marriage under the best of circumstances yet are now as happy as two pups in clover doesn't mean that is going to occur for Jason and I. We've been married years, Emily. Don't you think that if he . . . _loved — _" she had to push out the word " — me, he'd have said something by now?"

Emily picked up the salad bowl and headed toward the swinging door.

"I don't know, sweetie. You love him, but it doesn't seem like _you've_ ever told _him_ that."

_**To be continued...**_

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	17. Chapter 17

**Thank You guys so much for the support and the great compliments. I finished writing out the story and I am here to tell you that sadly we only have 3 more chapter left. So hope you enjoy this chapter. Lurkers feel free to leave a review.**

**Chapter Seventeen**

Cameron sat between Elizabeth and Jason at the table. He was so clearly delighted to have his parents together that it made Elizabeth's heart ache. As a result, she was barely able to swallow more than a few bites of the delicious meal that Emily had prepared.

Afterward, Emily plopped the baby on her lap into his playpen and began tidying up the dishes. She pushed a stack of plates into her husband's hands and looking rather amused, he followed her into the kitchen.

Leaving Elizabeth and Jason alone.

Cameron had already been excused and was fiddling with some new high-tech gadget of Nikolas' in the great room just a bit beyond the dining room.

Elizabeth stifled a sigh and looked down at little Eric in the playpen, smoothing her fingers over his soft cheek. About six months old now, he was a happy baby with his mother's eyes and his father's striking features. He grabbed her finger and chattered nonsensically.

She couldn't help but wonder what traits her child would carry. How would her and Jason's genes combine together in the life they'd created? Would the baby have Jason's beautiful blue eyes? Her naturally curly hair? Or would their child resemble his brother Cameron, who — except for his brown eyes — looked so much like Jason that people often remarked on the striking resemblance?

"You always did look good with a baby in your arms."

Jason's voice startled her. He'd sounded positively pained.

"You make that sound like a bad thing," she said.

His lean jaw was so tight it looked white beneath the permanent bronzing caused by hours and hours spent beneath the Pine Valley sun.

His thumb was working the edge of the label free from the bottle of beer he'd barely touched.

"Just a fact."

Had he figured out that she was pregnant with his child?

"Jason — "

He suddenly pushed to his feet.

"At least you'll be able to have more when you and A.J. get married."

Her jaw dropped. She very nearly shook her head to shake loose the buzzing that followed hard on the heels of his words. She rose and settled Eric on his colorful quilt that was spread on the floor. Painfully aware of Cameron who was still within earshot, she pushed an angry finger against Jason's hard chest. "

You may not want me any longer," she hissed, "but coming up with _that_ stupid statement is really low, Jason."

He circled her wrist with one hand, easily pulling her finger away from drilling a hole right through his gray shirt.

"And denying it serves no purpose, either," he said flatly.

"He came out to the house, today, Elizabeth. I know all about it."

Her fingers curled and she twisted her hand, but he held her fast.

"Know all about _what_?"

"He told me all about the wedding plans. Don't pretend you don't know."

If A.J. was up to mischief, Elizabeth didn't know what she'd do to him. But she promised herself it would be slow and very, very painful. What hurt, however, was the evidence that Jason could so easily discard her.

"If he's making wedding plans," she said thickly, "they're not with _me_."

Then she called to Cameron and told him it was time for them to leave. It should have come as no surprise that he didn't want to go.

She stood there, looking at those two males — one young and defensive, one mature and intense and utterly, impossibly unreadable — and felt all her self-defenses crumble . . .

_**To be continued...**_

That all for today...

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	18. Chapter 18

**Thanks for the reviews! As always please read and review!**

**Chapter Eighteen**

"Yes, Cameron," Elizabeth said huskily.

"Stay with daddy tonight. I'll pick you up after school tomorrow. T — tell Emily and Nikolas goodnight for me, please."

She turned hurriedly away from Jason and Cameron before she could no longer contain her tears.

She hated being so tearful. It made her feel weak and inept. Hormones, she reminded herself as she hurried out to her car, pulling her jacket on as she went. It had to be hormones making her so emotional. So unequipped to handle the mess in which she'd suddenly found herself.

Watching Elizabeth tear out of the house like the devil was at her heels, Jason frowned. She'd been pale and quiet throughout supper, casting him surreptitious looks when she'd thought he hadn't been looking.

He'd figured she was trying to come up with a way to break the news that she and A.J. were already planning their future. But just now, when he'd brought it out into the open, she'd looked as white and shaky as she had when she'd passed out into A.J.'s arms the other day.

The realization had him on his feet. What if she fainted while she was driving back home?

No, not home. To the apartment that she was currently staying in.

Nikolas came into the room.

"Did I hear Elizabeth leave?"

"Yeah." Jason leaned over Cameron.

"You mind staying here with Emily and Nikolas for a bit?"

Cameron, who was once again thoroughly occupied with the computerized toy, shrugged. "You gonna go get Mom?"

Jason didn't know how to answer that one.

"I'm gonna make sure she gets home okay," he finally settled for.

The windows of Elizabeth's apartment were dark. If it weren't for the sight of her car parked near the back door, Jason would have thought she wasn't there.

He threw his truck in park and pushed open the door. It had started to snow again. He headed toward the door, stopping short when it unexpectedly opened. A.J., head down and hands shoved in his pockets, strode around the side of the building and disappeared from sight.

Jason caught the gleam of Elizabeth's gilded curls as she stood in the doorway. His half-brother hadn't noticed him, but Elizabeth sure in hell did. In the faint light shining from behind her, he saw her stiffen and begin to shut the door.

His boot stopped its progress.

She didn't fight him. Merely turned away.

He pushed open the door and followed her inside. He found her sitting in the kitchen, arms folded tightly around her slender body. She didn't speak. Just tossed her wild mane of curls behind her shoulders and looked at him in the dim light.

"Where did A.J. go?"

He heard her sigh faintly. "A.J. Always A.J.," she murmured.

"To Harmony, I imagine."

"What for?"

Her lips pressed together for a moment.

"Because that's where his on-and-off fiancée lives . . . "

To be continued...

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	19. Chapter 19

Sorry guys but unfortunately I am going to my college orientation tomorrow and I won't be back until Thursday. So no more updates until Thursday( But hopefully I'll come home to a mailbox full of reviews! I also would like to clear up some questions some people have: amanda:not to worry this is not a crossover story. So hopefully you can keep reading it ) Liasonfan1:the story has one more chapter left so the reveal can't be too far away can it?

**Chapter Nineteen**

"His fiancée."

Jason repeated the words, unable to quite believe them.

"Yes," Elizabeth assured.

"His fiancée. He told you of his plans but obviously neglected to tell you the name of his intended. I suppose he thought it was one more thing that Monica would have told you. Do you think I'd make it up?"

He shoved his hand through his hair, even as he cursed his half-brother all over again.

"I'm sorry."

Elizabeth looked up at him, her expression sad.

"For what? That you've lost your easy excuse to call it quits with me?"

"Dammit, Elizabeth — "

She popped up to her feet, slashing her hand in the air.

"Just stop. I don't have the stomach for this right now."

She walked into the living room.

"Where's Cameron, anyway?"

"Still at Nikolas and Emily's."

He followed her, catching her arm in his hand. Feeling her go stiff as a board. He ignored it and turned her inexorably around to face him.

"I'm sorry that he hurt you again."

Admitting it didn't come easy.

"Who, A.J.?"

She stared at him with that same look she'd been wearing for the past few days. The one that silently asked if he'd lost his mind.

"The only thing that A.J.'s return proved was that our marriage is a sham."

Her throat worked.

"I'd thought . . . hoped — "

Something hard and tight lodged in Jason's chest. A sham? He'd devoted his life to Elizabeth and their son even though he'd known they weren't truly his. It was a hard truth to face.

"Hoped what?"

Her lashes swept down, hiding her eyes.

"We've been . . . married . . . a while, Jason. But I don't think we've ever talked about what's in our hearts. Not really. We talk about Cameron, we talk about our friends and what's going on around Pine Valley. We talk about the horses you train and about my job at the post office. But that's about it."

"I know what's in your heart."

"Do you?"

Her lips twisted.

"You've got one up on me, then. All I know is that you don't want me, anymore."

"Dammit, I'll always _want_ you."

The admission came out, low and fierce.

"But I want you to be happy, more. And if that means A.J., then that's something I've gotta live with."

"When have I _ever _suggested that I would only be happy with him? I don't love your half-brother!"

"You used to cry out his name in your sleep. Every damned night, Elizabeth."

Her lips parted.

"_Used_ to, Jason. Did you ever ask me about the dreams? Of course not! You're Mr. Tall, and Silent. The man who sacrificed his future for the poor little pregnant girl who couldn't take care of her life. The man who gave up everything just to ensure his nephew didn't get raised by strangers!"

"I _got_ everything," he growled.

"But I knew it wasn't mine to keep. You were A.J.'s."

"I wasn't. And I'm not."

She swiped her fingers over her cheeks.

"I was 18 and infatuated with a handsome college boy who was home on summer vacation. But I got over that infatuation pretty darned quickly when it became clear he'd only been out for some summer's entertainment."

"Your dreams — "

"Nightmares!"

Her arms lifted.

"Nightmares, Jason. When I'd find him stealing Cameron away from us. And they went away, didn't they? Because I knew that you and I would never let anything happen to our — " her voice broke " — to our child."

Each tear that he saw slide down her cheek felt like acid burning in his soul. He could no more resist her pain than he could swing from the moon.

"Ahh, curly cue," he murmured, brushing his thumb over that trail of tears.

"You deserve so much more than I can ever give you . . . "

To be continued..

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	20. Chapter 20

**Well guys it here! The last chapter. It's time for me to say goodbye to this story. It was fun writing you and I loved all the feedback I got from it. I hope you reviewers stick with me for my other stories also. Hope I did this story justice with the ending.**

**Chapter Twenty**

Elizabeth closed her eyes against the sight of Jason. So tall and beautiful.

"I know you don't love me," she whispered.

"But pushing me toward A.J. isn't something that makes up for what you don't feel. I don't blame you, Jason. All you wanted was to make sure my child was provided for; that he remained a Quatermaine. My falling — "

"All I wanted was you. The baby . . . Cameron. He was icing on the cake."

She shook her head, disbelieving.

"You married me because you felt sorry for me."

"I married you because I looked into your golden brown eyes and saw forever."

Fresh tears collected in her eyes.

"But you didn't . . . why . . . we — oh dammit, Jason!"

She wanted to kick him.

She wanted to kiss him.

"Are you in love with A.J. or not?"

"No! I'm in love with — "

His tension suddenly penetrated the cocoon of misery surrounding her. An unexpected calm swept through her and she thought she might well contentedly drown in the depths of his eyes.

"I'm in love with you," she finished quietly.

"A.J. was the flash. But you . . . you were the substance. The real thing. And I knew it practically from the start."

He folded her in his arms.

"You deserve more."

His lips burned over her temple.

"I thought I could let you walk away, but I can't."

"_Push_ me away, you mean. You can spend the next few years paying for it."

She twisted her head around until her lips found his.

"Say it, Jason. Give me the words. Just once and I'll never ask again."

He kissed her. Long and deep. And when he lifted his head, his breath was ragged and her head was filled with stars.

"I love you. Always have. Always will."

"Then why do you keep saying I deserve more? All I want is what I have. You. Cameron."

"And babies. You told me once you wanted a houseful of kids."

He gently captured her face in his hands. He pressed his mouth to hers. Then let go of her, stepping away.

Elizabeth reached out for him, but he'd turned away and didn't see her outstretched hand.

"I can't give you that houseful." His voice was rough.

"You stay with me and Cameron is all we'll ever have."

It was a good thing there was a chair nearby, for she sank weakly onto the arm of it. Having Cameron would have been enough, she thought faintly.

"Why would you think that?"

"I had the mumps when I was younger. The doctor said I could write off . . . well, you know."

She settled her hand on her abdomen and sent up a prayer of thanks.

"You never had a test to be certain."

"What was the point? Just more proof that I can't father a child."

"Oh, Jason," she whispered.

"Do you know what tomorrow is?"

"Our wedding anniversary."

"Hmm."

She pushed to her feet and moved over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She pressed her cheek against his strong back.

"Do you know what tonight is?"

She felt the deep breath he drew.

"Six years ago was the first time we made love."

"That night was when I truly felt like Jason Quatermaine's bride. I knitted you a sweater for our wedding anniversary," she murmured, and practically felt his reaction to the seemingly odd comment.

"I bought you a bottle of that perfume you're always drooling over."

She smiled faintly and, still keeping her hands on him, slipped around to face him.

"But I have another gift for the both of us. For our _true_ anniversary."

She took his big hands in hers and pressed them to her flat belly.

He looked pained.

"Elizabeth — "

"I'm pregnant, Jason. You and I . . . we've made a baby together. _That_ is why I fainted the other day."

"But . . . how — "

She tucked her tongue between her teeth, trying very hard to contain the joyful laughter bubbling inside her. Oh, she loved him so! She stretched up, wrapping her hands around his shoulders, pressing her breasts against him. And now that the truth was out between them, and she planned to tell him she loved him on an exceedingly regular basis.

"In the usual way," she assured gently.

"If you'd like a reminder of the process, I'll be happy to show you."

Jason swept his hands down Elizabeth's back and stepped back, staring incredulously at her.

"You're serious?"

She nodded. Smiled and the brilliance lit up every corner of his soul. He swept her against him, kissing her, swinging her in a circle. It seemed A.J.'s return hadn't been such a bad thing, after all.

"It's a miracle," he whispered.

"You're a miracle."

"It's love. And I have only one more thing I want."

Elizabeth tilted her head back, looking up at her husband, feeling the love in his eyes like a warm glow.

"Anything."

"Let's go get Cameron," she said.

"And then let's go home."

"Yeah."

Jason's smile was long and slow and utterly sweet. If she hadn't already loved him, she'd have fallen for him just for that smile alone.

"Let's go home," he said.

"Where we all belong."

**The End **

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